1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the construction of a winter windshield wiper assembly for use in a motor vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a winter windshield wiper assembly which insures that the winter windshield wiper assembly remains in contact with the windshield of the motor vehicle during operation by providing an air space between the bridge member and the windshield wiper frame. The present invention also includes a bridge member with at least one pair of elongated vanes extending outwardly and downwardly at an angle from a front wall of the bridge member, whereby air pressure created by the movement of the vehicles forces the vanes to apply a force to the winter windshield wiper assembly ensuring contact with the windshield. Accordingly, the vanes help to effectively clean and wipe the convex surface of the windshield of the motor vehicle, especially in a cold climate. In addition, the operation life of the windshield wiper assembly is increased.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, various types of windshield wiper frames for a windshield wiper assembly are well known. As shown in FIG. 1, such windshield wiper frame 1 includes a bridge member 2, a pair of primary yokes 3 pivotally connected to the bridge member 2, a pair of secondary yokes 4 pivotally connected to one end of each primary yoke 3, a mounting stay 5 mounted on the outer end of each primary yoke and mounting stays 5 mounted on each outer end of the secondary yokes 4. However, such conventional art wiper frames 1 suffer from poor cleaning performance by the windshield wiper blade due to inadequate pressure on the windshield.
In order to improve cleaning performance, one of such conventional windshield wiper frames, as shown in FIG. 1, is equipped with the bridge member 2 having a pair of vanes 7 and horizontal elongated holes 6 extending from the rear walls thereof. However, this wiper frame suffers from a number of problems. For example, as air flowing past the vehicle presses down on the pair of vanes 7, the entire upper portion of the wiper frame 1 is also pressed down toward the glass, causing the entire frame to pivot slightly. Therefore, the lower portion of the wiper frame 1, and the wiper blade (not shown) itself may be lifted slightly away from the glass, thereby preventing the wiper blade from effectively cleaning the convex surface of the windshield glass. This pivoting can result in a decreased operational life of the wiper arm (not shown). In addition, some known bridge members 2 with vanes 7 lack the holes 6 disposed on the top of the bridge member 2. These openings are needed to maintain the pressure balance on the two sides of the bendable lip of the blade so as to achieve an effective cleaning operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,636 discloses a windshield wiper frame for use in a windshield wiper assembly for motor vehicles which includes a pair of primary yokes, and a bridge member pivotally connected to the pair of primary yokes. Furthermore, at least one elongated vane extends downwardly and at a slant from the front wall of the bridge member. This windshield wiper assembly can efficiently wipe the convex surface of the windshield glass and extend the operational life of the windshield wiper assembly. However, this windshield wiper frame may not be completely effective in the winter time, particularly where there is heavy snow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,266 discloses a winter windshield wiper for use in a motor vehicle including a rubber sheet-sealed windshield wiper frame having a wiper blade thereon. A connecting member is attached to an upper surface of the frame. A horizontally elongated vane member having at least one wing is secured to the frame in order to improve the effectiveness of cleaning and to extending the operational life of the windshield wiper. However, this device also suffers from some of the above-mentioned problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,857 discloses an improved windshield wiper assembly for a motor vehicle which includes a connecting member connected to a wiper arm of the motor vehicle. A frame of the windshield wiper assembly is sealed by a rubber sheet disposed under the connecting member, and a bridge member is fixed between the connecting member and the rubber sheet. The bridge member includes a pair of flexible, elongated vanes which extend downwardly and at an angle from a front surface thereof, and a plurality of pairs of holes disposed on the top surface of the bridge member. The vanes direct the flow of air through the holes in the bridge member, thereby increasing air pressure on the wiper blade and improving the performance of the windshield wiper assembly. However, this windshield wiper may not be completely effective in the winter time or where there is heavy snow since the windshield wiper assembly is very heavy and possesses substantial resistance to operation.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved winter windshield wiper assembly which eliminates the problems encountered with the conventional winter windshield wiper. In order to accomplish these objects, the winter windshield wiper assembly for a motor vehicle of the present invention includes having at least one contoured and flexible vane and at least a pair of holes disposed on a bridge member.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved winter windshield wiper assembly including a bridge member, a sheet-sealed windshield wiper frame, and an air space disposed between the bridge member and the sheet-sealed windshield wiper frame for enabling air to flow therethrough which reduces resistance thereby enabling a smaller motor to operate the wiper assembly. The bridge member has at least one pair of elongated vanes which extend downwardly and at an angle from a front wall thereof, and at least one pair of horizontally elongated holes disposed on the top surface of the bridge member for effectively cleaning and wiping the convex surface of the windshield of a motor vehicle and for extending the operational life of the windshield wiper assembly.
The windshield wiper frame is sealed within a sheet which can be made of any natural or synthetic material which is effective for the intended purpose, i.e., to encase the frame within the sheet and separate it sufficiently from the bridge member to establish the desired air space therebetween. The sheet can be made of natural synthetic rubber.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved winter windshield wiper assembly, which is simple in structure, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use, and refined in appearance.
Another object of the present invention is to provide elongated vane members attachable to a conventional winter windshield wiper. This provides an inexpensive method of improving the operation of existing winter windshield wipers.
Briefly described, the present invention is directed to an improved windshield wiper assembly for a motor vehicle, which includes a wiper arm attached to a body of the motor vehicle, a connecting member connected to the wiper arm, a rubber sheet-sealed windshield wiper frame disposed under the connecting member, a bridge member fixed to the connecting member and having a pair of elongated vanes extending downwardly and at an angle from a front surface thereof, and an air space disposed between the bridge member and the rubber sealed windshield frame for penetrating air therethrough. Furthermore, a pair of holes disposed on the top surface of the bridge member, whereby the vanes direct the flow of air through the holes in the bridge member, increasing air pressure on the wiper blade and improving the performance of the windshield wiper assembly.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.